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4 Ways to Set Realistic New Year’s Goals

A new year, a new you right? At least that’s what we tell ourselves every year. We begin to think of all the things we didn’t accomplish the previous year, and decide to set new goals for the one to come. However, fast-forward another year, and you come to realize that not that much has changed; all those behaviors we said we’d amend, and life changes we decided to make unfortunately never happened. More likely than not, the cause of our downfall isn’t that we didn’t try or have good intentions, but that the goals we set just weren’t feasible. Follow these tips and this year, you’ll set goals you can actually accomplish.

Keep It Reasonable

One of our biggest mistakes is setting goals that are way too big. I know how appealing it sounds to reach your goal weight or redo your entire kitchen, but if that meanings dropping 70 pounds or having a complete remodel, those may not be attainable in a year. Instead start small. Think of little behaviors you could change to promote weight loss, or think of one part of your kitchen you could alter. You’ll still be progressing towards your goal, you’ll just be much more likely to accomplish it.

Give Yourself Time

This goes hand in hand with starting smaller. There are some things that you simply can’t accomplish in the span of a few months, and for some goals even a year is much to soon. Make sure you really sit down and think about how much time it might take you to achieve something. If you’re realistic about your timeline, you won’t be discouraged when everything isn’t accomplished in two months.

Know Yourself

Do you love pasta and bread? If so, completely banning carbohydrates from your diet may not be the best plan for your goal to lose weight. And if you’re addicted to a show, completely cutting television may not work either. We all have things we can’t live without, and recognizing that will help you set a realistic goal. Instead of completely banishing certain things from your life, set limits. You’re much more likely to stick to your goal if you’re able to reward yourself every now and than, then if you’re constantly craving the things you’ve told yourself you can’t have.

Make a Plan

Be specific and plan out your timeline for accomplishing certain things, and list all the little changes you’ll start making to reach your goal. Not only will writing your goal and plan down help you remember your endgame and keep you on track, but it will also allow you to measure your progress. In turn, you’ll be able to reward yourself for little victories or motivate yourself to work a little harder.

Trying to change behavior that’s been ingrained in you, is like trying to climb a mountain every day, and even when we really desire to alter our lives, some of the goals we set are often met by failure. If you have a past of not meeting those goals you set every New Year, there may be a reason why. Big changes take time, but if you keep your aspirations realistic, come 2017, you may just find that you’ve achieved a lot.